A History of The Arc

“Study the past if you would define the future.”
~ Confucius

OUT OF THE CLOSET, OUT OF THE SHADOWS.

With the end of World War II the men and women of The Arc of Washington State (then called the Children’s Benevolent League) no longer had to delay meeting their biggest challenge – public ignorance about persons with intellectual disabilities. Most people never even thought about them. There were no special education programs for such children. None of the public met adults with intellectual disabilities in supported employment or housing. In fact, the only answer the public knew was to send them away to isolated and unknown institutions. Beyond that, they were in the closet, in the shadows, forgotten. But these parents could not forget their children.